Charis Jamieson

Asia Pacific Commercial Marketing Director at Lenovo Australia

BEng (Hons) Electronic and Electrical Engineering 1999

Tell us about your time at the University

My main reason for choosing the University was because it offered a sandwich degree which enabled me to have a year in industry which was invaluable. In addition to that, the degree course was very practical and hands on with project work which was another attraction.

Tell us about your experiences since leaving the University

I was fortunate to be offered a full-time job with IBM which was the company I did my sandwich placement with. I started off as Product Engineer for which my academic studies were very helpful. I then focused on project management and gained PMP qualification and moved into more customer facing roles. In the last 5 years I have been working in Marketing, mainly commercial marketing to end customers and business partners who sell our products, this job role covers mostly Europe, Middle East and Africa, which allows me to travel and learn about new cultures. Most recently, I was offered a an opportunity to work in Lenovo’s Asia Pacific geography as the Marketing Operations Manager based out of Sydney, Australia where I have now been for the last year. Having a year placement in industry has been pivotal in starting off a successful career.

If you could offer one piece of advice or top tip to current students what would it be?

Build your network and do it in a natural way, you are your own brand so what you put out there is how people see you so consider what you put out and how you want to be perceived and the attention you want to attract. This is the one thing that has made the most difference in my career in being presented with opportunities.

What is that drives you on in your professional life?

People I work with. I enjoy meeting new people and learning new things, if you get on well with the people you work with, it makes your overall experience so much better.

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